My question involves traffic court in the State of: California.
Around 12:30pm on April the 28th, I ran the red light at the corner of Indiana Ave. and Van Buren Blvd. Unfortunately, I had no choice. This is a variable-time light, and I happened to catch it at the wrong time.
I was doing 28mph in a 40mph zone, the light turned yellow, and even if I had slammed on my brakes, I would have still ended up in the intersection. I was, ironically, on the way to my mechanic less than a block away *FOR* my brakes. They started acting odd around the McKinley (corona) exit of the 91, so I got off there and took the least-traffic'd route and gave everyone a wide berth. But whatever.
The light turned yellow while I was about a single-car-length from the crosswalk. Out of reflex, I *ATTEMPTED* to apply the brakes, but with diminished braking, that obviously didn't work, so I resumed course. The light was red for (if I'm reading the picture correctly) for less than 1 second at the point I entered the intersection. My speed was still 28mph. The video they claim is available is not. It would show my failed attempt at braking and the duration of the yellow light would just barely be in frame. I believe I just had no time to react.
I have 0 violations in this state. I'm a good driver, believe it or not, with more than half a million miles under my belt. I had a mechanical failure and did my best to make it safely to my destination to have that issue rectified. I have the invoice for the repairs -- same date, about an hour later. Do I have *ANY* defense here at all? I simply cannot afford the outrageous $500 ticket imposed by this ludicrous state.
Is there some kind of law where I have to be presented something like this *IN PERSON* by an officer?
How can I contest this? Sorry if this was a little bloated and not concise; I'm really flustered at the moment. Apologies.



